Alright, brides, your wedding day is coming up rapidly, and the nerves are setting in. You’re worried about it, right? What if it rains? What if someone drops the cake? What if, what if, WHAT IF! I get it, totally. You want the best day of your life to go perfectly, to be stress-free.

That’s to be expected; its the dream of every bride. Now, no day is going to be PERFECT, I’ll just start right there, but I’ve put together a list of five things you can do to make your wedding day less stressful. So step one, and don’t hate me for this…

1.Lower your expectations

You’re probably like, what, Jessica? What the heck! But, hear me out. Everyone dreams of their wedding day their whole lives, and I know you want everything to be perfect. That’s okay, but you have to realistic. No matter what you do, something could happen, and that’s okay!

Just roll with the punches, honestly. Let yourself enjoy your day, don’t even let the little things like possible late floral delivery or a hick-up with the DJ to bother you. You’re there to marry the love of your life, does anything else REALLY matter?

2. Hire a Wedding Planner/Coordinator

But, REALLY. I cannot stress this enough. Want a more flawless wedding day and to be less stressed as a bride? Hire a professional whose job is to do that for you! Having a planner or someone who is experienced with weddings will CHANGE everything!

That person will make sure your vendors are all on the same page, that your day goes smoothly, and decrease your worries. Invest in a planner, that’s all I can say. If a planner is out of your budget, not to worry, my next tip will help.

Also, in this section I want to mention, hire vendors who are experienced and ask about timelines before you hire anyone. For example, you want your DJ to know exactly what song to play for what dance is next at the right time, and having a timeline makes sure your day goes the way YOU want it to.

3. Build a DETAILED Timeline

I capitalized “detailed” for a reason, and this is what I mean: have a timeline from the moment you wake up to the minute you leave your wedding. A few things you need to think about when making this timeline are:

First, check in with your vendors about their timelines or time re-lated needs. For example, most photographers, like myself, build a timeline with our brides for their photography to make sure the images go smoothly. Get everyone on the same page for your day, and if you’re having a hard time doing this and it seems to be too much, HIRE A PLANNER. It’s worth it, I promise.

Second, think about “wriggle” room during your day! Your makeup could take more time than expected, and hair usually runs over the expected time, so build in 15-30 extra minutes around things like this. Don’t forget to build in time for you to EXPERIENCE your wedding, too! Leave a 20 minute break for yourself before the ceremony to get your heart and mind right, because you’re really at your wedding day for one thing, to marry the love your life. Don’t let the craziness of the day distract you from that!

And finally, once you’ve built this timeline, checked in with all your vendors that it looks good for everyone, send that baby out to EVERYONE in your family and bridal party. Anyone who is going to be there on your day who you want to know what’s going on, send it to them. Get it to your mom, your girls, the guys, and all the vendors. If everyone is on the same page for your day with the timeline, it will go off without a hitch!

4. Educate Your Bridal Party

Okay, I know this one sounds crazy, but bear with me for a second. You and your soon-to-be-hubby want to have a good day, a relaxed day where all of your vendors, family, and friends have a great time, right? Well then, you, as the bride, need to wrangle in those bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Make rules for your day like only two drinks for the guys before their portraits to keep your photographer sane and to make sure your images are beautiful! Tell your girls to patient with the day, to remember it is NOT ABOUT THEM, and to be respectful of your vendors’ time. Inform your family on where to be and when for family portraits, and let them know that listening to the photographer and being patient are the only ways to make the portraits go any faster.

I know this sounds kinda crazy, but trust me, I’ve seen a few horrible bridal party goers. You don’t want your bridesmaid to be the one complaining to the side during portraits that she’s hot or that she’s hungry or that ‘this is just taking literally too long’, right? Then inform your party that it’s going to be a long day and to be patient, and don’t forget to remind them that this is YOUR wedding day, so they better just hush it up and smile pretty. Ha! (Shout out to Melissa for reminding me of this tip while we were chatting last week!)

5. SLOW DOWN- Enjoy Your Day

My biggest tip for you make your wedding day less stressful is to remember why you’re there. What you’re about to do, what the day is really about. It’s not about timelines, vendors, slow makeup appointments, or late flower deliveries. It’s about you and the love of your life. Period. That’s it.

So slow down, enjoy your day. Let the crazy things that happen at weddings just roll of your back like water on a duck’s. Who cares, REALLY, if you’re late to the reception? You’re married! Who cares if your cake isn’t absolutely perfect? Your new spouse is!

I think this is the most important tip to make your wedding day less stressful because I want for all of my JHP couples and every couple to have a lovely wedding day that is focused on the couple and their love. Nothing else. Just love.